Paul the psychic octopus is never wrong.

The Dutch are taking over South Africa again. (too soon?)

That would be sunday. Saturday is the 3rd place match

I picked Spain over the Netherlands in the final before the tournament started. All hail.

I second @2. No livesslog and Jen (bless her heart) is bringing us breaking World Cup news? Seems something's amiss on the Salish Sea...

I watched the first half in Spanish.

Time to make signs for the Mariners that say "World Cup in Seattle if we win!"

@7 Nice point my friend!

As for Spain kicking Germany's Aryan a$$- YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I only saw 1/2 the game, but it looked like someone forgot to remind the German team that they don't play that old ropa-dope-defence-with- sporadic-fast-break style any more.

I also didn't catch all the live slogs for the various games involving Germany, so I don't know if anyone ever got around to pointing out that the German national men's team is called something like "der man shaft", or at least that's what it sounds like, spoken aloud. I assume the women's national soccer team has a correspondingly evovcative name. "die lady cleft", or the like.

9 -- really with the Germany-Aryan thing? So tired. The German team has four times more non-white members than Spain.

I have since been informed that I was watching (neither the owner nor us understood enough Spanish or the Satellite TV choices) the 2008 Germany-Spain FIFA game.

Wow. Deja vu. Actually, jamais vu.

Meinshaft is My Team I think.

I love the player who is named Schweinzimmer or something like Dog Room (got the second word mixed up).

Pig ... Hund is dog.

And yeah -- major Slog World Cup fail. Live-blogging nearly every stupid group game then dropping the ball in the final round? Weak.

Why surprised? Spain has been the best team running for the last two years. Their injuries hurt them when they came to the cup, but before that they were the team to beat. Germany knew how to exploit weak defenders like Argentina but against solid D they looked lost. Barça players are the key.

Germans were never all that, Forlan will lead Uruguay to victory. Its a hard call Spain Holland but Spain has the edge and a better keeper in kasillas.

Hurray!

Jen,
I'm psyched. Whether the Netherlands or Spain, it will be a 1st time winner for the World Cup. I predict the Dutch.

and I correct myself again - I did watch the match, but was unaware that Univision resets the clock at halftime, unlike CBC.

Darn you Spain!

@12 who is non-white on this team? You is blind lady!

http://www.worldcup2010southafrika.com/g…

@10, it's in writing but alas no money is riding on it.

@13, you are the stupidest person who ever lived.

Spain are too tough in the middle to let Schweinsteiger and Özil run free like they did against weaker or less organized teams. Thus, no service for their strikers. Müller wouldn't have made a lick of difference the way Xabi Alonso and Busquets and Ramos and Capdevilla played. Puyol and Pique were monsters at center back too. Pique's been slightly erratic this tournament but he was titanium today. Germany tried to do the same thing to Xavi and Iniestia, but it didn't matter thanks to that incredible header from Puyol.

Keep in mind this wasn't even the best team Spain can put on the pitch. No Silva, no Fabregas, no top-form Torres. When they play like this they don't need them.

Holland are a more straight-ahead attacking team, no funny stuff, so maybe they can break through. I wouldn't bet on it. Or rather, say they do -- but can they keep Spain from scoring three or four? No, I predict 2-0 Spain.

I think a lot of people forgot how truly dominant Spain can be. As a die hard Barça fan, is hard to acknowledge those darn Real Madrid players on the team, but man they're good. The Germans were lucky, this easily could have been 4 zip.

Good cup, my beloved Latinamerican teams had a good run, but I had the gilipollas in the final.

@20 noone is aryan, dear. I thought only near braindead neonazis were stupid enough to still believe in this crap.

@21 you try watching a game where nobody trying to find the channel on a satellite system speaks the language it's broadcast in. Turns out it was that Univision resets the clock at halftime, unlike what they do on CBC and FSN/ABC ... and it was the right game.

That said, I'm really glad Spain was unable to pull off their passing game to deny the other team a point and we got a real scrum with Germany. Sunday I'm watching it with some other Fremonsters over a few pitchers of hard cider.

Say hi to Genevieve if you're at the George for me. No way am I showing up at 8:30 for an 11:30 game.

Jerome Boateng is half German half Ghanaian, so methinks that qualifies as non-white...no?

Karlheinz owes me a beer.

Yes I do, Matt. Show up here in Hamburg and collect. It's a great place. I'll even put you up. I get to Seattle once in a while, too.

The Nationalelf (I like this name better than Deutsche Mannschaft) was just shut down hard. The locals are not happy, but are taking it extremely well. The Hungarian ref crew was pretty damned good. Minimal posturing and diving, and NO cards at all!

Next time I'm in Hamburg. Or better, if my sister visits her friend in Lübeck, I'll have her take a detour and enjoy the beer for me. You can take her to see where Telemann lived - I'm sure they have some museum somewhere.

@24, I repeat: you are the stupidest person who ever lived on the face of the earth.

What was it that made you think that maybe, just maybe, during the World Cup semifinal they'd be showing some other game featuring the same two teams? What was it that caused you to miss the innumerable on-screen clues, such as the name of the stadium, the shirts, or the names of the players?

YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON ON EARTH NOT TO NOTICE THE VUVUZELAS.

Univision is not hard to find, nor is it hard to identify once found.

Your "analysis" is fucked and muddy as well; in no wise did Germany deny Spain's passing game, nor is there any conceivable way in which "to deny the other team a point" makes sense. You are stupid. You are ignorant. You cannot stop talking about football but you have never seen a game -- NOT EVEN THIS ONE WHICH YOU JUST WATCHED.

Really, everytime I think you've established a new level you find a way to lower it. I fully expect you to show up at the final asking why they don't use their hands. Why don't you fuck off instead, and haunt some other blog?

The Live Sloggers were all very busy today. Please be kind. They've brought so much joy, is it really necessary to castigate them for doing their day jobs? I'm glad for every one of the games they did, frankly.

@29 -- darling, you just emptied a 30-day supply of Purina W-I-S Chow (TM) into his one-day bowl. He's now officially embedded, no thanks to you.

Hmm, I thought I was being funny when I wrote my comment @ 28, but it reads like I'm being a sarcastic dick. Sorry, Karlheinz, that wasn't my intention at all.

Karlheinz- didnt realize there are multiple Hamburg sloggers.

Agree with your comments. We watched the game at Knust last night and pretty much everyone agreed that we got shut down by a better team. Still, burgers and Pommes mit Mayo at Kleine Pause were certainly needed after the defeat.

Spain is going to shut down Holland in the final. 2-1 Spain, Holland finds a way to sneak in one of their lucky goals in there.

@20 you used a picture from like their 2002 world cup team. Oliver Kahn wasn't even their goal keeper in 2006. Also, Boateng half Ghanaian, Khadira tunisian decent, ozil turkish decent, cacau brazilian, Tasci turkish, Aogo nigerian.

@33 - there are a lot, actually. See, I have friends over there, and my brother graduated from the University of Hamburg, and I post all these things, and then add Abby and Monorail and Soccer and Hamburg is CRAWLING with SLOG fen.